Miter-gage.



J. ERIKSON & G. R. WIKANDER.

MITER GAGE. APPLICATION FILED 1130.21, 1908.

Patented Nov. 9, 1909.

INVENTORS (501v Gust/MR made!" and Jazz E1273 ATTORNEYS.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

, J OI- IN ERIKSON AND GUSTAF R. WIKANDER, QF NEW YORK, N. Y.

MITER-GAGE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. ,9, 1909.

specification, such as will enable those skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to carpenters tools and particularly to what areknown as miter gagesyand the object thereof is to provide an improveddevice of this class which may be used as an ordinary square,bevelfinoler, miter gage and for other purposes; and with this object inview the invention consists in a device of the class specifiedconstructed as hereinafter described and claimed.

Our improved tool comprises a "handle having two blades or arms pivotedin one end thereof and adapted tobe adjusted into a large variety ofpositions and to be folded into the handle, and the invention is fullydisclosed in the followingspecification, of which the accompanyingdrawings-form a part, in which the separate parts ofvour improvement aredesignatedby suitable reference characters in each of the views, and inwhich Figure 1 is a perspective back view of our improved tool andindicating the method of adjusting the blades or arms into differentpositions; Fig. 2 a perspective front view thereof and showing theblades or arms folded; Fig. 3 a face or front view of the head portionof the tool, with part of the construction broken away'and showing themethod of adjusting the arms or blades; Fig. 4 a section on the line 44Lof Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 a section on the line 55 ofFig. 2; an Fig. 6 a section on theline 6-6 of Fig. 5.

In the practice of our invention we provide a handle member a composedof separate parts a and a and said handle member or the separate partsthereof are preferably composed of metal and are also preferablyhollowed out longitudinally to form side flanges a and end flanges a,and the said separate parts of the handle aresecured together by screwsa and the central por-' tions of the separate handle members arethickened at one end as: shown at afiand I this end of the handle memberfor the purpose of this description, will be called the head of thehandle. We also provide two blade orarmmembers b which are pivoted inthe head of the handle by means of bolts 1 b and the separate parts ofthe handle are provided in their adjacent faces with longi tudinalrecesses or". adapted to receive the armsor blades 6 when foldedinto thehandle, and the said arms or blades are providedattheir pivoted endswith gears b which are ordinary inter-meshinggears and .are directly inmesh at all times, and one orboth sides of the handles may be providedwith a recess gas shown in Fig. 1, and when 1 the arms or blades barefolded into the handle as shown in Fig. 2, one of said arms or bladesmay be caught by the thumb and finger and pulled out and adjusted intoany desired position, and the other arm or blade will be operated in thesame manner and assumea corresponding position.

In the form of construction. shown, the holes cl in the head portion ofthe handle and through which the bolts 6 pass are elongatedlongitudinally of the handle and formed on an arc the. center of whichis the vcenter of the handle between said bolts and pivoted at saidcenter on a pin or other device e is a flat plate f which rangeslongitudinally of the head portion of thehandle and is provided with atransverse arc- .shaped slot f through which is passed a screw f and bymeans of this construction v the plate f may be turned on its pivotalsupport at c and secured in any desired position, and the inner end ofthe plate f is preferably provided with an aperture f into which the endor point of a suitable,

1 iristrument may be inserted for turning said p ate.

The bolts 6 which form the pivots for ,the arms or blades 6 pass throughand are securedin the plate 7, and by turning or adjusting the plate fas above described the bolts b .may also be adjusted in the head end ofthe handle and this operation will result inadjusting the gears Z2 orthe position thereofand the movement or operation of the blades or armsI) asqhereinafter de scribed and claimed. The bolts 6 which form thepivots for the arms or blades Z) pass through and are secured in theplate 7' and by turning or adjusting the said plate f as above describedthe bolts 6 may also be Y adjusted in the head end of the handle andthis operation will result in adjusting the gears b or the positionthereof as and for the purpose hereinafter described.

A longitudinal recess or chamber h s also formed in one side of the bodyportlon of the handle or the head a thereof and a curved plate spring kis placed therein. The outer end of this spring bears in the bottom ofthe recess or chamber h as shown at b in Fig. 5, and the bow thereofpresses on the gears b as clearly shown in sald figure and indicated inFig. 6.

The inner end of the spring 71. 1s pro- 7 vided with a longitudinalrecess 71%, and

mounted in the part of the handle in which the recess 72, is formed is athumb screw '5, the inner end of which is provided with a head 2' havingan annular groove 71 form ng a neck, and the recessed end of the spring72. forms a yoke which fits in said groove and by turning the screw 2'in one direction the spring 71, will press on the gears b and hold theblades or arms b at any deslred point of adjustment, and by turning sa1dscrew in the opposite direction this pressure will be removed and theblades or arms I; may be adjusted into any desired position.

This tool will be found useful in general carpentry and especiallyuseful in laying out angles on boards or strips of molding or otherpieces to be used in making miter joints. In using the device for th1spurpose it is desirable to so adjust the blades or arms that by layingthe handle along one edge of the boards or strips of molding therequired angle can be laid off on the board or strip of molding bypassing a pencil or scratchawl along the edge of each blade 1n turn andin respect to the part of the jo1nt on which the respective angle isrequired.

In adjusting the blades to the angle above mentioned, all that isnecessary is to support the boards or strips of molding so that theirends will approach one another at the required angle and to hold thetool by the handle and swing the blades outwardly from the handle aroundtheir pivots in the head until their edges are brought into coincidencewith the edges of the boards or strips of molding and until the angleembraced therebetween is the same as that of the edges of the boards orstrips of molding, and as above described the required angles to makethe joint between the said boards or strips of molding can betransferred to the material.

This tool will be especially useful in cases where the boards or stripsof molding to be mitered together are not of the same width orthickness, in such a case it will be readily understood that the line ofthe joint, or the line of junction of the two parts of the joint doesnot bisect the angle embraced between their edges and that a furtheradjustment of the tool will be necessary if the lines for this joint areto be laid out on the material as above described. This adjustment isprovided for in the construction shown, and is effected therein as willbe shown later.

In the case in practice above cited it can be readily seen that when thetwo blades of the tool were brought in coincidence with the edges of theparts to be mitered together, said parts in this case having the samewidth or thickness that the line of the joint ranges in a directionparallel to the center line of the handle of the tool, but in a casewhere the two parts to be mitered together are not of the same width orthickness this is not true, and in order to conveniently lay out uponthe material the angles required in making the joints it will benecessary to bring the center line of the handle of the tool intoparallel relation with the line of the joint. To do this, all that isnecessary is to loosen the screw f and by firmly holding the blades ofthe tool in the above stated relation to the sides of the parts to bejoined the handle of the tool may be freely moved in a directionnecessary to bring its center line into parallel relation with the lineof the joint, and the screw f may then be tightened to maintain thisrelation of parts. When this has been done it will be understood thatthe angle embraced between the blades of the tool and the angle desiredbetween the two parts to be mitered is the same, and that the handle ofthe tool is parallel to the line of the joint. With the tool set in thisway the proper angles can be transferred to the material for this joint,in identically the same way as in the case where the parts to be joinedwere of the same width, namely by laying the edge of the handle alongthe edge of the board or strip of molding and passing the scratchawl orpencil along the edge of each blade on each part of the joint in turnrespectively.

Having fully described our invention, what we claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

l. A tool of the class described, comprising a handle provided in itsopposite sides with longitudinal recesses, two blades or arms pivoted inthe head of said handle and adapted to be folded into said recesses,said blades or arms being provided at the pivotal ends with intermeshinggears whereby the movement of one of said blades or arms will also movethe other, an adjustable plate connected with one side of the head ofthe handle and in which the pivot pins of said. arms or blades aresecured, said plate being adapted to be moved into different positionsso as to adjust the said pivot pins and the said gears with reference toeach other.

2. A tool of the class described, comprising a handle provided in itsopposite sides with longitudinal recesses, two blades or arms pivoted inthe head of said handle and adapted to be folded into said recesses,said 1 ing also provided with a friction device blades or arms beingprovided at their piv--] adapted to bear on said gears.

otal ends with intermeshing gears whereby In testimony that We claim theforegoing 15 the movement of one of said blades or arms as our inventionWe have signed our names will also move the other, an adjustable platein presence of the subscribing Witnesses this conraeicted dwitholnehsidle of the head off the 19th day of December 1908.

han e an in W ie t e ivot ins 0 said arms or blades are secured saidplate being ANDER adapted to be moved into difierent positions so as toadjust the said pivot pins and the Witnesses:

said gears With reference to each other, the A. R. APPLEMAN,

opposite side of said head of the handle be- C. E. MULREANY.

